The Fateful Trio
by soulbound nun
Summary: My name is Fuu. I recently transferred to Edo High School. My life is pretty ordinary and pretty normal. ... Well, until I met two certain people I will never forget...
1. The Day That Becomes Worse And Worse

**The Fateful Trio**

This is my first Samurai Champloo fanfic! Please enjoy!

I do not own Samurai Champloo!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_My name is Fuu. I recently transferred to Edo High School. My life is pretty ordinary and pretty normal. … Well, until I met two certain people I will never forget…_

---

"Oh, geez… Where the heck is that school?!" Fuu moaned in dismay. Wandering around the neighborhood, the young high school student shook her head with a long sigh as she searched for the school she transferred to. She was currently living with her grandparents because of her father's death and her ill mother was sent to the hospital close to the town of Nagasaki, so Fuu could take care of her mother and watch her studies. Her grandparents were worried for her transportation to school, but Fuu assured them she would simply walk, as she knew they must've been busy with their small teashop Fuu would begin to work in. _It's my first day too… How much worse can this get?!_ She thought.

"Hey. You lost?"

Her chestnut brown eyes blinked. There was someone behind her. By the tone of the person's voice, it was the voice of a rather cocky male. _Whoever this guy is, I have no time for this._ Beginning to head on her way again, Fuu felt a sudden chill run down her spine as a sharp, wooden stick appeared close to her neck. Observing closely, she realized what it was. _A… wooden sword? What in the world…?_ She wondered. Fuu refused to turn around, but listened to the young man's continuing words.

"You know, I can help you find your way to school. You're the new transfer student, eh?" he said.

Fuu tried to ignore him as she began walking again. She could hear his footsteps following her. _Persistent punk_, Fuu thought, irritated. "_You'll_ help _me_?" She frowned. "On _what_ conditions?" Fuu questioned the male individual behind her.

"You're working in that old folks' tea place, right?" the young man spat with an amused grin, "Spare me, oh, I don't know, _one hundred dumplings_, and I think that'll make us even."

"Who the hell are you, and how do you know all that about me, you stalking creep?! And one hundred dumplings?! Are you crazy?" Fuu hissed.

He sighed. "All right. I'll just leave you to be late for school," the boy murmured, tapping Fuu's shoulder with his wooden sword from behind. She could hear him chuckling.

Fuu rolled her eyes. She knew the guy behind her wouldn't stop the insistence until he got his way and he wouldn't stop following her until he got his part of the deal. "Ten dumplings."

"Seventy-five."

"Fifteen."

"Fifty."

"Thirty," Fuu said firmly. "That's final." _I still can't believe I'm doing this…_

"Hmm… I don't know. That seems pretty shitty to me…," the young man from behind Fuu taunted, smiling. "And you really don't have _time_ to be complaining, transfer student."

Fuu checked her watch on her left wrist. It read six forty-five. The bell in school would ring soon, Fuu knew. She groaned. _Just who the hell is this guy?!_ "All right, all right! One hundred fricking dumplings!" Fuu snapped. "Now just tell me where the hell that school's at, jerk!"

Suddenly feeling herself being forcefully turned around, Fuu was face to face with the young man she had been debating with. It was a complicated, musky looking male who appeared just around her age, maybe even a few years older. Fuu was speechless. Holding his wooden sword on his shoulder, he gave a sly smile. "Right in front of you," he whispered in her ear.

Turning around, Fuu gasped. She had been too into her argument with the 'stalking, unnamed jerk' that she hadn't noticed how close to the school she had walked. _This guy tricked me, and now I owe him one hundred dumplings?!_ She looked around and saw him walking in the courtyard of school already. Fuu felt like hitting a wall right now. _Dammit!_ Fuu shook her head with disdain. _This is my first day too… Why does everything have to be like this?!_ She moaned in thought. She stared straight at the boy who had tricked her, who was walking away with slim ease. _That jerk! I swear I'll give him a piece of my mind!_ Walking sharply to catch up with him, Fuu noticed he was disappearing into the crowds of many passing students. _Oh, no! I'll lose him if I don't hurry!_

Rushing into the crowd, Fuu bumped into someone. She looked up to find a rather handsome man, in her opinion, whom she had bumped into. He was taller than her with raven black, long hair that was stunningly tied back with a ponytail and the young man wore fine glasses as well. A pleasing combination in Fuu's taste. "Opps! I'm so sorry!" Fuu apologized, bowing her head down with shame.

The young man with glasses appeared to have ignored her apology as he simply nodded and walked pass her.

That's when Fuu saw it: another wooden sword. The glasses-wearing gentleman was holding onto one just like the stalking jerk she had run into had. "… Excuse me, but what is that? That wooden stick?" Fuu asked, who had been curious as to why a school would allow weapon, let alone fake yet possibly harmful ones in.

He turned around slightly, questionably staring at Fuu. He was surprised by such a question. "A kendo sword," the young man with glasses simply replied before leaving.

_Kendo… sword…? What the heck is that?_ She wondered. Fuu's old school wasn't as qualified and somewhat dignified as Edo High School. They didn't have art or music classes, just normal classes, like English, Japanese, Mathematics, Science, and Physical Education. They didn't even have any after school activities or clubs; it was pretty much a boring and plain school Fuu was kind of glad to leave. She sighed. _Even if this school is pretty nice, I won't be able to do all that fun stuff; I have a job…_, Fuu fumed with a bit of annoyance, even though she had her reasons for agreeing to work in her grandparents' teashop.

Fuu flinched as she suddenly heard the sound of the bell ringing. _The bell? Now? But I was hoping to find my class before the school gets packed up!_ She worried as she felt the ground rumbling. Turning around, Fuu froze to find a stampede of running students hurrying to their classrooms. _Oh, crap!_ She thought, running for her life.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Class 1-S. Fuu stared down at her blue sheet of paper, which had a map of the school, her class schedule and teachers, and her personal information as well. _Looks like this is it_, Fuu thought. _I hope my day doesn't get anymore worse…_ She shyly knocked on the door to her classroom. "Excuse me? Um… I'm the transfer student to Class 1-S…," she trailed on nervously.

The door opened, and out came the teacher of the 1-S, Azayaka-Sensei, a beautiful, doting, yet absentminded and naïve twenty-two year old young woman who, for whatever reason, decided to become a teacher right after college. "Welcome! Umm…," she first exclaimed before mumbling, scratching her head. "Uh… Y-Your name?"

"… It's Fuu," Fuu said, confused. _My Sensei doesn't even know my name? Well, this is a sure start_, she sarcastically thought.

"Ah, right! Fuu, welcome!" Azayaka-Sensei let Fuu inside the rather quiet, whispering class, gossiping on the currently perplexed Fuu, the new transfer student. "Class, please welcome the transfer student! Umm… uh… You name?"

"Fuu," again she had to say. Fuu rolled her eyes. _Didn't she… just ask me that?_

"Ah, yes, the new transfer student, Fuu. Class, please stand and welcome your new classmate," Sensei said.

The class stood in unison and greeted Fuu and then returned to their seats. She noticed one person hadn't stood up. He was sitting on the second to the last row in the back, window seat. Fuu was as still as stone. _It's… It's… It's… Him! That stalking creep!_ She thought, furious. He gave her a clever smile. She had the sudden urge of beating him to a pulp.

"Now… umm uh…"

"It's Fuu."

"Ahh, of course! Now, Fuu, your seat is right over there," Sensei pointed to the last, empty seat in the last row open, a window seat. Fuu frowned. It was the seat right behind of the stalker.

_Great, just great…_, Fuu muttered, walking over to her seat. She glared at her now enemy.

The rugged looking troublemaker was amused that fate led him with her again. "It's you. The bitch that owes me a hundred dumplings."

Fuu rolled her eyes, walking pass him to her seat. "It's you. The stalking creep who won't leave me the hell alone." Fuu sat on her seat as quick as a rock falling on the ground. Like gravity, it seemed Fuu's world was falling apart in one, single day.

Azayaka-Sensei wrote some English on the chalkboard before returning her gaze on Fuu. "All right, since… umm…," she began and then paused.

Fuu sighed. "My name is Fuu, Sensei," she plainly said.

"Yes, since Fuu is our new student, can someone volunteer to give her a tour of the school grounds during class? Anybody?" Sensei suggested kindly.

No one raised his or her hands. Fuu twitched with anger in her seat. _Damn jerks…_, she thought.

"What about you? Um… J-Jin, show the new student around," Azayaka-Sensei asked.

Fuu turned to see Sensei was talking to the boy sitting next to her. Fuu felt like fainting. It was the handsome, young man with glasses she had bumped into earlier. _Yes!_ She exclaimed.

As Jin was half way of standing up, suddenly, Fuu felt her arm being pulled. She realized the creep sitting in front of her who was pulling her out of class, much to her dismay. "_I'll_ do it," he volunteered, dragging the now in despair Fuu away.

Fuu groaned and moaned in her head. _Out of everyone, why him? Why the guy I hate most on this earth?! I wanted that Jin guy! Nooooooooooooo!_

Azayaka-Sensei nodded. "All right, umm… uh… M-Mugen," she agreed.

Mugen turned around at the doorway before leaving. "You don't mind, do you?" the cocky student asked Jin. Fuu turned as well, hoping Jin would mind, for she thought she would die if she had to be around the guy she owed one hundred dumplings to.

Jin sat down stiffly. "Be my guest," he replied.

"All right, then. Come on, wench," Mugen ordered, pulling Fuu away.

Fuu felt defeated for the first time. _Won't someone save me?_

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"…"

It had been but nothing but silence for the past time. Fuu glanced at Mugen who was walking beside her in the hallway. He was walking heavily with his hands in his pockets. "Hey. You," Mugen spoke.

Fuu said nothing.

"Hey," Mugen repeated.

Facing him, Fuu glared. "My name's not '_hey_,' and it's not '_you_' either, so stop calling me that!" she hissed. "My name's Fuu!" Mugen shrugged, clearly ignoring her. Fuu rolled her eyes. "Why did you volunteer for this?" she questioned, "What exactly are you getting out of this?"

Mugen shrugged. "I just wanted to ditch class. I could've done it with or without you, but the chance was too much to resist."

"You're _using_ me to ditch class?!"

"Yeah, pretty much."

_Jerk…_ Fuu glared at Mugen. "I don't owe you anything, you know. You tricked me today, so the deal's off," she stated sharply.

Mugen chuckled, tapping Fuu again with his kendo sword that always managed to appear out of nowhere for some odd reason she could never understand. "Better watch your words, or else…," he warned. Fuu faced him with intensity.

"Well, if you don't need me, then leave and go who knows where!" Fuu hissed at him with her hands on her hips, "Because I don't need you!"

Mugen walked pass her. "Gladly."

Fuu turned and walked downstairs as Mugen kept going down the hall with his wooden sword by his shoulder. As she walked down the steps, she could hear Mugen's voice echoing from down the hall.

"Have fun getting _lost_…," he sneered with laughter.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Damn you…_, Fuu thought, stomping downstairs. _I don't need you anyway. I can find my way around Edo High School all on my own! Just you wait, Mugen… Just you wait!_ Opening the glass doors to the courtyard of the first floor, Fuu looked around. She knew the school had a building for all the students' classes, the building she was just in, as well as other buildings like the office, auditorium, gymnasium, music building, and so forth. But considering most of the buildings looked the same, it seemed Fuu would be walking around for hours rather than one class period. _This is just peachy…_, she mumbled sarcastically. _This just can't get any worse…_

"Hey… You're that new transfer student in 1-S, right?"

"Who wants to know?" Fuu questioned, turning around to find herself surrounded by thugs. Fuu could tell by their uniforms they weren't from Edo High; they were probably from a neighboring school. She frowned. Just by their expressions, Fuu could tell her day had just gotten worse. "What do you want?" she asked quickly with suspicion.

"Nothing," one of them said with a smile, "We just wanna _ruff you up a bit_, that's all."

"It'll sure piss _Mugen_ off when he finds out," another hollered.

Fuu flinched. "Mugen?" she asked.

"Yeah," the third explained. "You're Mugen's _girlfriend_, well, the one he's interested in _this_ time, right? We saw you talking with him _twice_. You guys even sit next to each other in class."

_This morning and in the hallway too…_, Fuu realized what they were talking about. She shook her head immediately. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not Mugen's girlfriend!" Fuu stated with annoyance.

"Oh, really?" the fourth person of the gang questioned. "Well, we'll still ruff you up, _just in case_." He turned to four other people in the group as he snapped his fingers. Two of them pushed Fuu into the wall of the east building as the two others held Fuu's arms. But that didn't stop her from struggling.

"Let me go! How many times do I have to tell you?! I'm not Mugen's girlfriend! He doesn't even like me, and wants nothing to do with me, all right?! He's just a stalking creep who thinks I owe him one hundred dumplings!" Fuu argued.

"We can't take _your_ word," the one holding her right arm said.

"Yeah, you might just be lying, and then you'll run off and tell Mugen to kick our asses. Now we can't let _that_ happen, now can we?" the one holding her left arm added with a chuckle.

"Why do you guys have a problem with Mugen? I know he can be a jerk, but…!" Fuu demanded, glaring at the eight troublemakers.

"He kicked our asses last week after we said how crappy his fighting skills were. We thought roughing out up would be our little revenge," the first stated.

Fuu couldn't believe this. "You guys are cowards! At least Mugen has enough _pride_ to defend his name, but you eight would take the _lowliest_ way of just pissing him off! He'll just kick your asses again if you do this!" she snapped.

"Sure," added the second, "But at least we'll be able to take away his pride _without_ getting the crap beaten outta us."

"So…," said the third as he walked in front of Fuu, pulling on her collar. "Stay quiet, or else…"

"Or else… what?!" Fuu shouted, kneeing the third troublemaker in the groin. The third one backed away and collapsed as the fourth one quickly took his place and cupped Fuu's chin tightly. Fuu only spat on his face and glared with her chestnut brown eyes with furious rage.

"… That's it! You're dead, bitch!" the fourth person of the gang snapped as he raised his fist, ready to punch her.

_Oh, no!_ Fuu flinched, closing her eyes quickly. But she felt nothing. She suddenly felt her arms had become loose. Opening her eyes, Fuu gasped. Her eyes widened in shock. The fourth one had been knocked out and was unconscious on the ground. She looked up to see who had done it. Fuu could not believe her eyes. "Mu… Mugen…?" she asked, her voice dry with surprise.

He quickly knocked out the other four guys as he glared at the two standing next to Fuu. They quickly tried to run pass Mugen, but were knocked out in an instant as Mugen swung his kendo sword. Mugen turned his attention to the still shocked Fuu. "Hey… You okay?" he asked. Fuu was looking down; her brown hair was tied up, but Mugen couldn't see her face. "Hey… Did you hear me?" Mugen repeated, irritated, walking over to her. "I said 'are you okay?'"

"I hate you!" Fuu shouted, staring at Mugen coldly.

"What the…?! I fucking _saved_ your life! Those guys would've raped you!" Mugen argued.

"They were gonna rape me to get back at _you_! It's _your_ fault! They wanted to rape me because they thought I was _your_ girlfriend!" Fuu shot back.

"Well, I saved you, didn't I?! So stop shouting!"

"_You're_ the one who's shouting!"

"Hey!" He put his left hand on Fuu's shoulder, shaking her. "Will you shut up and be thankful for a second?!" Mugen demanded.

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" Fuu snapped, hitting Mugen over and over on his chest with anger. She couldn't believe how insensitive he was. I_t's all his fault! Why won't he just apologize already?! Mugen, you're such a jerk!_ She thought. "I hate you! I hate you!"

Mugen looked away, not knowing what to say. "I… I'm sorry…," he said quietly.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1 Done. Please RXR!


	2. The Teashop

**The Fateful Trio**

New Reviews:

Friends1004- Thanks!

Your Mom- Thanks for your… um "concern," but I don't need it.

Zodiac Eclipse- Yeah... It was really hard for me to think up what he should've said in the end. I know it sounds sincere, but then again Mugen could've just said that to shut Fuu up. - -;

Automailjunkie44- Thank you!

Hey Those Beats- Thanks! Yeah, I'll try to ignore it too. )

Kendra Luehr- Awesome! Yeah, it was tough to write! Ha, ha, thank you!

Ravens secret stalker- Wow, thank you! I'll try to make the pairings up ASAP!

Sony89- Thanks!

Starrychica82- Thanks!

DedicatedReader- All right. I guess Fuu was a bit of a bitch in the last ep.

Girl-who-sings-the-blues- Wow, so much questions! Well, one of the Samurai boys is in the kendo team; you can guess who. I won't explain much about kendo until the next chappie though. Yes, the Sunflower Samurai will come into the story. I can't explain his relevance though; that'll be saved for later chapters. I stated earlier in the first chapter that Fuu's mother is ill in the hospital. Well, knowing Mugen, he'll always get his way, so one hundred dumplings sounds like a sure bet. And like the anime, I think Fuu brings the trio together because Mugen and Jin would've either been killed or kill each other if she hadn't stepped into the story. Because Fuu's teacher is so absentminded, probably never. And as for the last question… You'll just have to wait and see!

Ori- Wow! Thank you very, very much!

Banana- Thank you! Actually, I'm thinking of putting Shinsuke in the next chapter. XD Thanks for the idea of adding in Shino as well; I might add her in later on!

New Favs:

DedicatedReader

Starrychica82

New Alerts:

Automailjunkie44

DedicatedReader

Girl-who-sings-the-blues

Hey Those Beats

Meemei

Sony89

Edakumi-sama

Starrychica82

Sorry for the late update! As always, read my profile if you're wondering why I haven't been writing… Anyways! Onward to the chapter!

This is my first Samurai Champloo fanfic! Please enjoy!

I do not own Samurai Champloo!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lunch period. Fuu wandered through the courtyard, heading towards the cafeteria silently. She couldn't believe how hectic her first day had become. She was tricked by a stalking pervert and almost got raped because of him. _But… He did save me. He apologized too._ Fuu sighed. _I didn't even thank him. Some person I am, _she was beginning on having second thoughts._ I should apologize and thank him if I see him in the cafeteria_, Fuu decided.

The cafeteria was serving ramen, chicken, and rice today. Fuu was starving. At her house, she could eat everything on the table in one gulp. Finished getting her tray of food in line, Fuu looked around the crowded tables in the cafeteria, hoping to find Mugen. _Where is he?_ She wondered. Then Fuu spotted him. He was sitting in one of the back tables. _There he is! _"Mu-----!"

But, much to her annoyance, he wasn't alone. There were three girls giggling and sitting beside and across from him, flirting with him. Mugen was simply enjoying his time with them. Fuu groaned. _That jerk! And here I thought he had a decent heart… And he's flirting with three girls for Pete's sake!_ She rolled her eyes. _I don't even know if I want to apologize to him now…_, Fuu thought, walking over to an empty table by the cafeteria entrance. She slumped down and stared at her food. She felt like eating; she missed breakfast just to come early to school, considering she didn't even know where it was. Fuu sighed. _Stupid Mugen… Now I'm all alone_, she fumed.

Fuu looked up as she noticed someone had just seated himself across from her. She blinked, surprised. "_Jin_…?" Fuu asked. It was indeed the handsome, glasses wearing young man from her class that she had bumped into in the morning. _He's sitting… next to me…?! I must be in heaven!_ She thought with relief.

Jin looked up, noticed Fuu's presence, and simply shrugged and returned to eating his ramen.

_He's ignoring me again…_, thought disappointed Fuu.

"I noticed you were in trouble today," Jin said.

"Huh?" Fuu asked, stunned that Jin had started a conversation with her. "Trouble?"

"With some students from Saigo High School," he reminded.

Fuu gasped. _Those guys today who tried to…!_ "How do you know about that?!" she demanded, alarmed. _Oh, no! Jin found out! How?! Don't tell me that stupid Mugen…_

"Sensei told me to take some papers to the Office and copy them for her. I happened to only witness the incident. _He_ rescued you?"

"Y-Yeah…" _He's talking about Mugen…_

Jin returned to eating his food. "He may be a fool, but…," he began, but continued to eat without another word. Fuu stared questionably at Jin. She smiled.

"_I… I'm sorry…"_

Remembering Mugen's words, Fuu became silent. Turning her attention from Jin back to her own food, Fuu quietly sighed to herself. _But… that doesn't mean he doesn't have a heart_, Fuu finished Jin's words.

Hearing footsteps coming her way, Fuu noticed Mugen was coming… with his three flirtatious female companions. Fuu groaned in her head. _Is he just showing his girlfriends off at me on purpose?_ She wondered, annoyed. _What do they have that I don't?_ She looked down at her chest. _Oh… Right… That stupid pig…_ Fuu rolled her eyes as she began eating, trying to ignore Mugen as he passed by.

As Mugen walked pass Fuu's table, he noticed she was there, and he noticed she was sitting with Jin. As Mugen locked eyes with Jin for a second, he turned back to the three giggling girls with a scoff, heading outside.

"You're jealous?" perked up Jin's expressionless, quiet voice again when Mugen had left. Fuu was at first speechless, stuttering, and gave a look of disgust.

"No way!" Fuu snapped.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bell rang. The sound of school ending for the day. The sign of freedom to all students. "You may be excused," Azayaka-Sensei said as the students hurried out the door.

_Hurry, hurry, hurry!_ Fuu was ready to leave, and try and ditch Mugen as well as she practically ran to the doorway, but unfortunately, when you sit right behind him, it's pretty hard to ditch Mugen without him noticing. She was almost out the door when she felt the familiar tapping of Mugen's wooden sword on her shoulder. _Crap…_

"Hey. You better not be thinking about ditching me," he said.

"Now _why_ would I think that?" Fuu asked sweetly, grinding her teeth with frustration. _I was so close!_

"I'm following you home everyday until I get all my one hundred dumplings," Mugen stated. "One day. One dumpling."

_I'm stuck with this creep for one hundred days?! That's almost three months! Well… I am stuck with him the whole year, considering he's sits right in front of me… but still!_ Fuu moaned with distress. She rolled her eyes. _I guess this can be my 'thank-you' to him for saving me today_, Fuu thought. "Whatever," she replied shortly. "Follow me." Stunned, Mugen tilted his head and followed her. Fuu's house wasn't very far from Edo High School. She was surprised she couldn't find the school earlier today. _And now I owe this creep one hundred dumplings because I have poor direction skills…_, Fuu muttered. "Why do you want to eat at the teashop _today_? Don't you have _better things_ to do?" Fuu hissed curiously, "Why don't you go mess around with your _slutty girlfriends_?"

Mugen chuckled. "I was only interested in those three _today_. I'll have new ones _tomorrow_," he simply said with a grin. "Why? You jealous?"

"No way!" Fuu snapped, looking away. _That pig! Even Jin asked me that… I would never be jealous over someone like that creep Mugen!_ She hissed in her thoughts with annoyance.

"_You're Mugen's girlfriend, well, the one he's interested in this time, right?"_

Fuu glared at Mugen. She had thought he had a heart, but maybe she had thought too soon. _He's heartless! He probably doesn't even know what commitment is!_ She fussed. Shaking her head with frustration, Fuu noticed there were near her neighborhood.

Her house wasn't big; it was quite small. Just a two story house. The first floor was mainly her grandparents' teashop. The second floor was the living room, kitchen, dining room, and a hall leading to the three bedrooms. The first was her grandparents, and the second room was Fuu's, but the last room at the end of the hall was reserved for her mother, once her illness cleared up.

They arrived there quickly. "Well… Here's my house," Fuu said plainly as they passed the front door, which was just traditional, short curtains hanging in front of the doorway. The inside of the teashop was quaint yet homey. There were six tables with six cushions seated next to them. Fuu's grandparents' used to have employees other than Fuu, but since they were a small business, practically all of them quit. Besides Fuu who was working was her hardworking grandparents and a couple of strong, middle aged friends they knew. There weren't that much customers in the teashop. There were only an elderly couple, a mother with her child, and another elderly man.

Fuu's grandpa by the front counter smiled. "Welcome back, Fuu," he greeted.

"I'm home, Grandpa," Fuu returned the greeting and the smile. She glanced at Mugen with disdain. "_Oh_… And this is Mugen. He came for some food."

"This place is pretty _dead_, don't you know?" Mugen added.

"Shush!" Fuu hissed, elbowing him on the arm. She took him to the closest table next to the counter as Mugen sat down on the soft cushions. He watched as Fuu went in the back of the counter to go drop her school belongings as she put on an apron and took out a small notebook and a pen. "Is everyone working already?" Fuu asked.

"Yep. Grandma and the others are in the back. I've been taking the orders for you."

"Thanks, Grandpa."

Grandpa glanced at the cocky young man Fuu had brought in, and then he glanced back at his granddaughter. "Your _boyfriend_?" Grandpa asked curiously, elbowing Fuu with a grin.

"Yeah, right," Fuu replied with a laugh. "In my _nightmares_!"

Mugen rolled his eyes as he flipped around the menu. "You know it's bad to keep a customer _waiting_," he reminded loudly.

_You…!_ Fuu rolled her eyes. Returning to Mugen, she gave him a frown. "So? You want just a dumpling today?" she asked.

Mugen outstretched as he put his hands over his hand. "Is _that_ the way you talk to _customers_, because if it is, you're just making bad business," Mugen mentioned.

Fuu glared. "I'm _not_ talking to a customer. I'm talking to _you_," she grimaced impatiently. "I have _other people_ to get orders from, so hurry up, Mugen."

Mugen looked around. "There are just five people, including the kid."

"Will you just tell me what you want already, Mugen?"

"I want some yakitori, a dumpling, and a beer."

"You're not legally eligible to drink," Fuu reminded promptly.

"I _look_ legal enough. Better hurry up; don't you have _other people_ to get orders from, anyway?" Mugen questioned with a laugh.

_Jerk!_ Fuu thought, stomping back to the front counter. She tore off one of her notebook papers with Mugen's order and gave it to her grandpa. "Here's the next order."

Grandpa nodded. "Well, another student from your school came in, so go and get his order," he added, going inside the kitchen.

_Another student from my school?_ Fuu turned around and almost stopped breathing. "Jin?" was all Fuu could say. For some reason, she had been bumping into him lately. She felt her heart fluttering with glee. _Yes! Jin's here! Now I don't have to bother so much with that idiot Mugen!_ Fuu thought.

Jin had sat down at the table next to Mugen's. Both Mugen and Jin frowned and glared at one another. Jin turned his attention to Fuu, who came eagerly running to his table. "You work here?" he asked.

"Yeah! This is my grandparents' teashop and my house," Fuu quickly explained with a sweet smile. "S-So… What would you like to order?" _Jin's here! At my house! Well… the teashop in my house… But close enough!_

The glasses wearing gentleman expression never changed as he browsed through the menu. "I would like a dumpling and a cup of tea," he replied.

"All right," Fuu exclaimed with a grin as she went back to the kitchen.

Mugen gave a loud sigh as fixed a stare at Jin. "Since when did you and transfer student become such _good_ friends that you're _always_ together?" he questioned with a chuckle.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I heard about this teashop from the other students, and I decided to see if it was decent or not," Jin merely explained, pushing his glasses up. "I had no idea they had such _low_ standards to let a _dog_ like you in."

"What was that?!" Mugen snapped. "You're starting to piss me off."

"Actually, _you're_ starting to piss me off," Jin shot back coolly.

"You know, we can take this out back anytime. We both brought our swords," Mugen challenged.

Jin seemed amused. "If you want to lose, that is."

"Oh, yeah? I'll kick your ass outta here!"

"I'd like to see you try."

Fuu stared plainly at the two high school boys arguing. She rolled her eyes. "_Ahem_," she cleared her throat loudly. Mugen and Jin stopped as they turned to face Fuu. She handed them their plates of food blankly. "Your orders. Enjoy." Fuu returned to the front counter with sigh. _What a bunch of morons_, she thought. _I expected this from stupid Mugen… but Jin?! Geez…_

Grandma pocked her head out of the kitchen as she glanced at the boy arguing boys with a smile, and then glanced back at Fuu. "Grandpa told me that rugged boy there is your _boyfriend_, Fuu," Grandma said, peering out of the kitchen.

"He is _not_!" Fuu pouted.

"I saw you talking with this good looking guy next to him. Is _he_ your boyfriend?" she curiously asked.

_What is up with my grandparents and them poking their heads in on my love life?!_ Fuu wondered, a tad irritated. "No, Grandma…. He… He's just a friend…" _A very good looking friend_, Fuu added in her mind.

Grandma sighed. "You're such a young girl, and you have so many guy friends…! You know if _I_ were you…," she mentioned.

"_Grandma_…!" Fuu moaned with a frown.

"All right, all right. I'm going!" Grandma quickly went back to the kitchen, laughing.

Fuu shook her head as she slapped her hand on her forehead. _How can this day get any worse?_ She thought.

"Come on, fight me here and me!" she suddenly heard Mugen's clear voice. "What? Scared?" Fuu turned to find Mugen swinging around his kendo sword, challenging Jin to a fight. The eating customers all became quiet and unsure of what to do or say. Jin simply sat there, eating his meal.

"You're such an idiot. Stop making a scene," Jin replied as he drank his tea. "I'm not going to pay for anything if you break something here."

_Dammit, Mugen!_ Fuu thought, ticked off. _If you ruin my grandparents' business, I swear…!_ She rushed over in front of Mugen quickly. "Mugen, stop it!" Fuu ordered. "You're going to get me in trouble if you start a fight here!" Jin stood up silently. Fuu gulped. _Oh, no… Don't tell me he wants to fight Mugen now!_

"I'm leaving. I'll leave the money I owe on the table," Jin said, as he put on his backpack as well and took his kendo sword. He placed the money by his food before coolly leaving the scene.

"Um… All right, Jin," Fuu agreed with disappointment in her tone, but was still standing in front of Mugen to make sure he didn't pick a fight. "See you tomorrow."

"You're running away?! Coward!" Mugen shouted.

"I'm not running away," Jin replied as he left, "I just came here for a meal. I'm finished so I'm leaving."

Fuu sighed in relief. She turned her attention to Mugen to find gathering his belongings too. "I'm outta here," he muttered, slamming his money on the table.

"Mugen?" Fuu asked, following him outside. "Hey!"

Her cocky classmate frowned when he noticed she was right behind him. Both of them stood outside Fuu's house quietly. Jin was already gone, much to Mugen's chagrin. He began tapping his wooden sword against his shoulder in frustration. Fuu was unsure of what to say to Mugen. "What?" he asked, irritated.

"You shouldn't have tried to challenge Jin like that!" Fuu scolded with her arms crossed. "You can be so stupid sometimes, Mugen!"

"And here you go, shouting your lungs off again. It's fucking annoying!" Mugen grumbled, glaring at her. Fuu held her ground and glared right back.

"What's your problem?" Fuu questioned quietly, "Why can't you and Jin get along?"

"…"

"Why won't you tell me?!"

"Why don't you just shut up for once?!"

_He's so stubborn! How can I even try to understand him if he keeps pushing me away?!_ She wondered. Fuu sighed. "Look, about today…"

Mugen turned around and began walking. "Forget about it."

"Wait; _listen_ to what I have to say…!"

"_Later_."

Fuu steamed, getting ticked off. "You're a jerk! See, this is what I hate about you! I just wanted to say I'm sorry!" she snapped. Mugen stopped walking, and turned halfway around. Taking a deep breath, Fuu bowed slowly. "I'm… sorry. I really am. And… thank you. Thank you for saving me today," she told him.

Pausing for but a moment, Mugen shrugged and turned his back on her. He looked up at the orange-pinkish sky as the sun was setting. Mugen took one last look at Fuu. "Like I said… Just forget about it."

As Fuu watched Mugen walk away, she felt something painful. She felt confused, irritated, frustrated, and somewhat disappointed; her feelings were too complex. Frowning, Fuu sighed. _You'll never let anyone inside... Will you, Mugen?_

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2 Done! RXR!


	3. Kendo and Theives

**The Fateful Trio**

New Reviews:

Hey Those Beats- Thank you!

Sony89- Thanks!

Automailjunkie44- Yeah… Fuu's grandparents can be pretty nosy, ne? XD

JMai- Thank you! I like to keep my fanfics as original as possible.

Girl-who-sings-the-blues- Thank you very much! I'm just glad "Your Mom" didn't review again… LOL… About Fuu's teacher… I really wanted the type of Sensei in the Samurai Champloo class that would be kind of a pushover, so while she's a natural ditz with a sweet side, Azayaka-Sensei will probably never notice that "Hells loose" in her class… XD Well, I can't say about Fuu's mother's illness yet. All I can say is that Fuu is extremely overprotective of her mother, illness or none.

Ariaobisan- Thanks!

New Alerts:

JMai

Paparate

Vashti313

Lolness. Think of this as a gift to all of my fanfic fans for the quick update! Why, you ask? I feel very generous, considering it's MY BIRTHDAY (5/29), so yeah. I'm finally fifteen!! XD Well, anyways, enjoy another chapter!

This is my first Samurai Champloo fanfic! Please enjoy!

I do not own Samurai Champloo!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fuu stood at the courtyard with a sigh, staring up at the huge clock in the front of the classroom building. _I feel like such a loner_, she spat, who had nothing better to do but to wait for time to pass until the bell rang for class to begin. The only people she knew in the school were Mugen and Jin. She longed for more friends, but unfortunately, she was stuck with the two. No one was as brave enough to speak with the quiet yet mysterious Jin other than Fuu although many fans of Jin were both jealous and amazed of this, and no one was sane enough to hang around Mugen except for flirtatious sluts looking for a good time with the bad boy. Despite this, Fuu had wished she could hang out with the two more. She knew nothing about them, besides the fact that Mugen and Jin aren't in good terms with one another and always fight when given the chance. Still irritated after yesterday's bickering with Mugen, Fuu hummed in her thoughts quietly. _I wonder where Jin is now…_," Fuu wondered with a blushing face and a sweet smile. That's when she heard a couple of male students chattering as they ran right past her.

"Hey, look's like a fight's starting on the west side of the building!"

"Sweet! Who's picking a fight this time?"

"I bet it's another punk who thinks he can take on _Jin_!"

_Jin?!_ Fuu's thoughts raced. _Picking a fight… Another punk?_ A light bulb instantly lit up in Fuu's head. There could only be one person. _Mugen!_ Running over to the scene, Fuu couldn't tell who was fighting who. The place was crowded by loud mobs of students who wanted to see what was going on. "Geez…," Fuu muttered, pushing through the crowd. Sticking her head out of the circle of rowdy high schoolers, she saw it was indeed Jin in a fight. But the other person wasn't Mugen. It seemed to be just another person with a kendo sword, overconfident with his skills, and yet holding his sword with hesitance. _An amateur._ Fuu sighed in relief for a split-second, glad that Mugen and Jin weren't in another argument. _Thank goodness…_, she thought. But her thoughts suddenly disappeared as she watched the student with the kendo stick race towards Jin with fierce force. Fuu gasped. "Jin!"

Jin barely moved. It was so fast. He simply took a step forward and swung his kendo sword at his opponent, and his enemy fell to his knees with his weapon knocked out of his hands distanced away. Staring lowly at the once prepared student, Jin only gave a stare. "Do not challenge… those you cannot hope to defeat. It shall only leave you in vain." Jin walked coolly away, leaving his opponent in shock, still at his knees in disbelief.

Fuu's eyes widened. "Amazing…," she whispered. The crowds began cheering loudly as Fuu pushed and made her way out of the mob to catch up with Jin. _Jin… Wait!_ Fuu could barely see him as the crowds were so thick. She wanted to follow the swift Jin. Getting shoved behind her, Fuu was pushed out of the crowd. _Ow…_ Fuu blinked. She had realized she had bumped into someone, for her head was resting on someone's chest. Looking up to quickly apologize, Fuu realized it was Mugen who she had bumped into. "Mugen!" Fuu said, surprised.

"Watch where you're going." Mugen tilted his head. "What?" he asked, confused and annoyed by her expression.

"Where's…?" Fuu looked around, her eyes darting left and right. Jin was nowhere to be found. She frowned and sighed. "… Never mind."

Mugen looked over Fuu's shoulder at the big mob. He scoffed. "So… Jin had another challenger, huh?" he added.

"_Huh_?" Fuu returned her attention to Mugen. "You mean this happens _all_ the time?"

"Yep," Mugen explained flatly. "He always gets underestimated for his skills and always gets challenged, but like always… all his opponents get their asses kicked."

Fuu eyed her classmate. "What about _you_? You challenge Jin all the time."

Mugen glared at her. He looked away. "Come on," he changed the subject, pulling Fuu's arm.

"Hey!" Fuu hissed, annoyed. "Wait!"

"So… Ya gonna buy me lunch today?" Mugen teased, revealing he had taken Fuu's pink money pouch in his hand.

"No way!" Fuu quickly took her pouch away and returned it to her pocket. She stuck her tongue out. "… Make your sleazy girlfriends do it." Again, Fuu struggled to get out of Mugen's grip as he was still pulling her arm. But of course, she had no strength to stop Mugen. As he hauled Fuu inside the classroom building, Fuu couldn't help but pout. _That idiot's never going to tell me…_, she thought.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fuu couldn't help but wait for class to be over. She wanted lunch or break period to come so she could hang out with Mugen or Jin; she wanted to get to know them more. Call it a woman's sentimental side, but so far, the two boys who were closest to becoming friends with her didn't know anything about her and she the same. No one at school knew her, and must've assumed things of her, as she followed Jin around and bickered with Mugen constantly. Fuu kind of wished she had more female friends than just the two male buttheads she was stuck with. But she was kind of glad. Despite his attitude, Mugen kept her company when she needed it, and spending time with Jin at school made her happy. _Maybe I should buy Mugen lunch…_, Fuu pondered. _Maybe I'll be able to understand him more today…_ Then an awful thought hit her on the head. _Never mind…_, she muttered. _He'd probably be too busy with his new, slutty girlfriends… _Fuu rolled her eyes quietly, pouting as she stared out the window.

_"You're jealous?"_

Shaking her head quickly, Fuu glared at her desk. _No way. There's no way_, she told herself.

"Hey, transfer student. Are you done daydreaming?"

Fuu looked up at who was in front of her desk. She frowned and glared. _Just who I wanted to see…_, the brunette girl sarcastically thought. "What?" Fuu asked flatly.

Mugen gave a cocky smile. "The bell rang, idiot. It's lunch."

Her brunette eyes widened with surprise. "Eh?!" She glanced at the clock. It was the right time. Darting her eyes around, most of the students had left class already as well. Fuu turned her attention once more to Mugen. "Hey… Why are you _waiting_ for me? You think _I'm_ gonna buy you lunch?" she questioned.

"_Aren't_ you?"

"Make your _slutty girlfriends_ do it."

Mugen turned half way around. "Jealous much?" he taunted.

Fuu glared as she immediately stood up, took her bag, and began storming out of the classroom. "Like I'd want you hanging around me all day! … I'd rather spend time with Jin than you, you jerk!" She slammed the classroom door shut.

Frowning as Mugen looked outside the window, he tilted his head quietly. "… Is that so?" he muttered.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_That stupid Mugen…_, Fuu hissed angrily. _And I wanted to buy him lunch too! … He just had to get all conceited like that… He can be a real jerk sometimes!_ Walking around the courtyard for a breather, as she needed time to cool off after another argument with Mugen, Fuu blushed, hearing her stomach growl loudly all of a sudden. "Oh, right!" she said to herself with a grin, "I missed breakfast… again… I better hurry to the cafeteria!" Taking out her pink pouch of yen, Fuu cheerfully headed towards the cafeteria, tossing the pouch in the air and catching it repeatedly as she went.

And then, just out of nowhere, the unthinkable happened. As soon as Fuu realized it, a brunette first year student had quickly passed by her, and her pink pouch was nowhere in sight. Quickly turning around, Fuu understood swiftly just what had happened. "Hey!" she shouted, "You!"

The brown haired thief quickly flinched and made a run for it. Now, Fuu wasn't you typical damsel in distress. She wasn't going to wait around to demand for Mugen or Jin to retrieve her money for her. To the thief's own startling surprise, he was stunned to notice someone was on his tail. The girl he had pick pocketed was right behind her. _Shit…_, he cursed.

"Stop! Thief!" Fuu ordered with outrage.

"Geez!" the first year argued, "Don't you know when to stop?!"

Running around the corner of the east side of campus, Fuu thought the race would never end. Eventually, she dizzily halted from running to a jog and then to a slow walk. Panting, Fuu tiredly shook her head. _Damn it all…_, she muttered. _Is this punishment for not buying that stupid Mugen lunch?! Aww, geez…_ Wearily, Fuu bumped into someone as she was tired from running. Looking up, Fuu's eyes widened with surprise.

"J-Jin…?!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Mugen, what's wrong?"

"You're so quiet…"

"Aren't you having fun?"

Mugen scratched his head as he sat on a bench with his three picks for the day. His three girlfriends had been nagging on all lunch but he barely said a word in reply. He sighed quietly, outstretching back into the bench. Then something caught his eye.

A brunette boy passing by was grinning slyly as he tossed up and down a pink pouch full of yen. Mugen eyed the familiar pouch and suddenly realized just where he remembered it from.

_"So… Ya gonna buy me lunch today?"_

_"No way! … Make your sleazy girlfriends do it."_

Instantly, Mugen got up with his kendo stick clenched tightly in his hand. Walking towards the brown haired thief, his three girlfriends blinked. "Mugen?" they asked with disappointment.

Whistling, the thief paused, seeing Mugen in front of him with his kendo stick. Backing away a bit, all the unnamed thief gave was a nervous smile. "What do you want?" he questioned. Despite knowing Mugen's reputation, the first year wasn't afraid. He had dealt with people like Mugen.

"You're Shinsuke, right?"

"Who wants to know?"

"Hand it over."

"Huh?"

"That pink pouch…," Mugen told him, "You stole it from _her_, didn't you?"

Shinsuke backed away even more, holding onto the pouch. "I don't know what you're talking about…" Mugen suddenly swung his kendo stick, throwing it towards the brunette thief. Quickly, he ducked, missing the swing. "You missed-----" Just as soon as he said those words, Mugen instantly punched the guy in the face with his free hand. Shinsuke fell backwards and slid onto the ground with a thud.

Taking the pouch, Mugen slipped it into his pocket as he began walking away, leaving Shinsuke with a bitter attitude. "… Idiot…," Mugen scoffed.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fuu and Jin sat in the library. It had been silent for sometime as Jin skimmed though some books as Fuu stared with curiosity at Jin. "I'm sorry I pulled you around most of lunchtime to look around for that pickpocket…," Fuu apologized sincerely. No reply. _I'm losing him again…_, Fuu thought, disliking how her peer would take no knowledge to her words or ignored her. "So… anyway…," she decided to change the subject, "I saw the fight this morning. You were amazing!"

"It was nothing," finally Jin replied.

"No wonder you and Mugen have fight all the time!" Fuu grinned, "Are you guys like rivals on the kendo team or something?"

Silently, Jin closed the textbook he was skimming and moved on to another book. "Mugen's not on the kendo team."

"Eh?" Fuu responded with surprise. _He's not on the team?_ "Then why does he carry around a kendo sword for?"

"Mugen was a likely candidate for the team, but the Sensei of the kendo team refused to allow him in the team. Although his skills are impressive, I agree with Sensei's statement. Mugen is too headstrong and impulsive to fight correctly in combat. I am the strongest of the team, so Mugen sees a challenge in me, and often we fight, but our battles always end in draws or we never get to finish them."

"Oh…," was all Fuu could say. _So that's why…_, she realized. _There's no one else on par with Mugen but Jin… That's why they fight; they're each other's only competition._ She sighed, not wanting to think about Mugen. Changing the subject once more, Fuu hesitantly looked away quietly. "So… umm… Jin, do you have a girlfriend by any chance?" she asked, out of the blue with a flustered face, "It-It's just a random question, so you don't have to answer, but…"

Jin fixed his glasses. "… Once," Jin told her quietly and firmly as he stood up with a couple of books in his hands. He turned around to leave.

"Hey, Jin!" Fuu called. "Where are you going?"

The librarian eyed the two from her desk on the other side of the library. She put her left index finger to her lips. "Shhh! This _is_ a library!" she warned strictly. Fuu bowed with a nod; she hated getting scolded.

"I'm leaving," Jin said, and headed outside.

"Hey, wait…!" Fuu persisted, running after him.

"What did I just say?! And no running in the library!" the librarian hissed, irritated.

"Hey, Jin. Do you have kendo practice today?" Fuu asked energetically as she caught up with him. Jin simply nodded. "Well…," Fuu suggested, "Do you mind if I watch your practice after school? I wanna see the fuss is about about kendo! … Please?" Fuu looked down as she pressed both of her hands together in a pleading fashion.

Jin gave an amused stare as he shrugged. "Do as you like."

_Yes!_ Fuu exclaimed with pure delight. _It's almost like a date! … Except it's not… But it's close enough!_

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the gymnasium held the routine kendo team practices, flocks of students crowded on the sidelines. It was a great pastime to watch, besides other sports in Edo High School. Fuu didn't realize that kendo was such a big thing. Besides being amazed with kendo itself, she was even more surprised on the popularity of the sport. _Wow… No wonder Jin and Mugen are so skilled at this…_, Fuu noted with awe. She was glad Jin was all right with her watching the kendo practice. _Jin's the type of guy any girl would be happy dating. He's handsome, smart, mysterious…_, she trailed on dreamily with lovey-dovey eyes thought until something hit her.

"_So… umm… Jin, do you have a girlfriend by any chance?"_

"… _Once."_

Fuu looked down as she quietly stopped walking in the crowed pack of students. She felt a short shiver down her spine as she frowned. _Of course, Jin would have a girlfriend. There's no way a guy like him wouldn't, but still…_, Fuu mumbled. _Why does it hurt so much…? She may be an ex-girlfriend, but… I'm sure he still has feelings for her. His face told it all… I feel so silly right now. I really do…_ She placed her hand over her heart and closed her eyes. But a sudden rush of cheering broke her thought. Fuu, opening her eyes, noticed how impressive Jin was at kendo during the practice; he moved gracefully and without a sweat, knocking out his team members swiftly and shortly smiled. "Even so… I still… really… li-----," Fuu whispered, covering her mouth silently, trying not to shed any tears because of her feelings for Jin.

"Hey."

She knew Mugen was right behind her. Fuu could tell his cocky, rugged voice anywhere. "What…?" Fuu didn't have the effort to fight with him, as her tone was dry.

"Is that any way to say 'hello?'" Mugen questioned with a sigh. He put his hands on his hips, shaking his head as if Fuu was a charity case. "You give Jin the special treatment by being all sweet on him, and then you lash out on me… You seriously are messed up."

"So what if I am?!" Fuu snapped, turning around. "You don't even know the half of it! You think you know me, but you really don't! And don't even try because you'll never understand!" Ticked off, Fuu went right pass Mugen, bumping shoulders with him purposely. Now outside, Fuu was ready to storm away from her classmate as she normally would. "Ouch!" Fuu rubbed her head; something had hit her on her head. Turning all the way around, Fuu glared. "Is this some kind of joke to you, Mugen?!"

Mugen had his hands crossed as he simply pointed to her feet. "Look."

Fuu looked down and gasped with her eyes wide. It was her pink pouch full of yen. _My… My… It's my…_ She couldn't believe her eyes. As she bent down to pick it up, and stood right up with amazement on her face, Mugen walked right by her without a glance.

"… You're welcome," he muttered as he passed her.

_Mugen…_, Fuu thought. She stared down at her pouch of yen sincerely. _I guess he's not that bad…_ That's when she realized something. The pouch was strangely light. Fuu turned around with a grim face. "You… You… You bought lunch with my money, did you…?" she lowly asked.

Mugen turned around with his usual cocky smile. It meant 'yes.'

"You… jerk!!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_And that jerk ended up again eating freely at my teashop afterwards…_, Fuu fumed with irritation. She sighed. It couldn't be helped, she supposed. The brunette fifteen year old girl was sitting around on her desk in her room, writing in her diary.

_Another frustrating day here in Hell… Mugen just had to be such an idiot today. But… I am glad he found my yen pouch. I hope he didn't beat up that thief too bad… Today was really fun, though. I got to spend most of the day with the handsome Jin! It was interesting to see how cool he was… But to think he had a girlfriend too… He must've really loved her… I guess I'm not good enough, huh? Well… at least I can try. Tomorrow's another day. Maybe Jin will look the other cheek and see me for once. Who knows what'll happen?_

Fuu closed her diary after another entry of her life as she dimmed the lights in her room and closed her curtains. Lying on her bed ready to sleep, the last thing Fuu saw was a memory from her past. She dreamily gazed upon the glass vase on her table bedside, and as she slowly drifted to sleep, the image of a dozen sunflowers in the vase rested in her mind.

_Father…_

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3 Done! RXR!


	4. Treats and Just Desserts

**The Fateful Trio**

_New Reviews:_

Sony89- Thank you!

Girl-who-sings-the-blues- Yeah, my fifteenth birthday wasn't too memorable. Anyways, yep, Mugen's girlfriends change very frequently, so yes, they don't have names. And yes, Shinsuke's a pickpocket! squeal I wanted to add him in this new chapter, so enjoy!

Starrychica82- Maybe it'll be FuuXMugen, maybe it'll be FuuXJin. Can't say for now.

Hey Those Beats- Thanks!

Cassandra- Sorry for an extremely long wait! Here's the new chappie!

Mahatiel- Um catfight? Idk. Stumble upon a fight between Mugen and Jin? Very likely.

Janoire- Thank you very much! )

BaE-bAbii- Thanks!

_New Favs:_

Janoire

LadySilverDragon2

Tenshi of the Twilight

Fluffysnowgirl

Mahatiel

Neeby

Xxxbloodyxxxdreamsxxx

_New Alerts:_

BoyObsessed520

Janoire

Meemei

Moody1656

Naru Phoenix

The love which you chase

TheWhiteWind

Ashz20

Babyluv360

Mahatiel

This is my first Samurai Champloo fanfic! Please enjoy!

I do not own Samurai Champloo!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fuu ran frantically to school as she quickly slipped on her backpack while carrying a textbook and binder. _Geez… Out of the days to oversleep… Why on a school day?! For Pete's sake…_, she whined in her head. She regretted staying up writing in her diary; Fuu had placed the notebook in her bag in case her grandma and grandpa's nosy prying, which was sadly frequent. _They read it the other day…_, she reminded with a heavy sigh. _I've got to put a lock on this thing…_

The reason for Fuu's eagerness to go to school was to see Jin, and compliment him for his amazing skills in kendo at yesterday's practice. Despite the knowledge that Jin previously had a girlfriend, Fuu wanted to keep optimistic that hopefully Jin would look the other way, in her direction. She also wanted to see Mugen as well. _Since Jin doesn't always hang out with me, Mugen's my best bet. Geez… I've got to make more friends… At least one who's a girl I could relate to even… If I'm stuck with Mugen for the whole year, I don't think I could stay sane…_, Fuu thought.

Rushing ahead, Fuu almost swore she heard voices to her right by an alleyway. Slowing her speedy jog to a suspicious walk, she took a peek at the alleyway to find horrible results. A young woman was being cornered by a sleazy guy, pressuring her for something that she would certainly not give in to. _That guy…!_ Fuu realized the familiarity of the man's face.

"Please… I'm going to be late for my studies…," the young woman protested quietly with a firm yet cautious voice as her long hair glided down her red uniform.

"Hey, hey… Let's not be hasty now…," the man murmured suggestively. However, before he had a chance to get closer to her, something interrupted their conversation.

"Hey, creep! Get away from her!"

Hearing that high pitched and powerful voice, the man spun around quickly with a skeptic face, only to find a thrown garbage lid hurling his way. "What the…?!" With no more time to react, he was soon knocked out by the metal lid hitting him straight in the face.

Fuu grinned, pleased with her strength. "_Payback_…," she whispered under her breath. She had recognized the man as one of the thugs of Saigo High School from the other day who had wanted revenge on Mugen. It was only coincidence that she found him again, but she was glad she that he got what was coming to him. She especially didn't want another girl forced. Fuu glanced over to see if the girl was all right. The young woman flinched, shocked by such an attack. She looked up to find fifteen year old Fuu hurrying to her side. "Come on, hurry!" Fuu said as she took the girl's hand and led her out of the alley way.

After running for half a block, Fuu shortly came to a halt as she panted for air. She glanced back at the quiet girl behind her. In one word, the girl she had rescued was beautiful, with long black raven hair and matching eyes. Her fine uniform suggested that she was not a student of Edo High School. She gracefully bowed.

"Thank you," the young woman spoke with a gentle voice. "I was trying to look for directions to the train station. I recently moved here, so I haven't the faintest idea how to get anywhere; unfortunately, I seem to always attract ill fortune…."

Fuu shook her head. "Don't worry about it. That guy was a sleaze ball. Anyone else would've done the same," she reassured with ease. Then she grinned. "By the way, I'm Fuu. … I can tell from your uniform that you aren't from Edo High."

The girl nodded. "Yes. I've been enrolled into a private school for girls in the city."

"That's a shame…," Fuu muttered with a degraded sigh, "I really thought you were the answer to my prayers! I'm new here too, so I don't really know that much people. I've just been hanging out with two guys." She blushed with sparkling eyes. "One of them is pretty okay; the handsome and the quiet type," Fuu trailed on with a red face, only for it to soon turn to an annoyed face. "As for the _other_…" She let out an uttered groan as she rolled her eyes. "… Let's just say sometimes he can be a real jerk."

"I'm sorry to hear that. The _latter_, I mean."

"Eh… It's all right, I guess."

An idea popped up in the young woman's head as Fuu noticed the sudden smile on her face. "Why don't we exchange phone numbers?" She took out her cell phone as Fuu did the same. "That way… When we both have spare time… I can properly thank you for saving me. I should at least return the favor."

Fuu nodded. "I can't wait." She paused, seeing something ahead. "Hey, there's a taxi!" She waved her hand as the driver noticed and came to a slow stop. "Take this ride to your school. You don't want to be late, do you?"

As the young woman opened the door to leave, she shortly glanced at Fuu. "You're right. Thank you," she said. Hesitating for a moment, she gave another glance at her newfound friend. "Oh, Fuu, before I forget…"

Fuu was about to leave when she heard the girl's voice from behind. She spun half way around. "… Hm?" she asked.

"I haven't properly introduced myself yet, have I? My name is Shino. I really hope we meet again."

Before Fuu knew it, the taxi had driven past her in a second. Dazed, Fuu stood there for a while. Smiling, Fuu thought the same. "Thank you. Bye, Shino." _Wow… What a nice girl. Huh… it feels like I'm forgetting something…_ The bells suddenly rang from nearby. Fuu froze. _Aw, geez! Now I'm late for school!_ Instantly, the young fifteen year old brunette began running to school in a hurry.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The fifteen year old sighed with relief. Luckily, because of her teacher's absentmindedness, Fuu was able to slip through the field of classmates in Class 1-S to her seat. But plainly everyone else in the room noticed, of course.

Fuu couldn't help but be confused when she saw all the strange stares at her when she came in. A snicker was heard in front of her seat. Fuu glared, knowing it had come from the young boy sitting in front of her, the stalking creep who she currently owed dumplings too at her teashop: Mugen. She tried to ignore his attempts at irritating her; Azayaka-Sensei was writing down notes on the blackboard, notes that she was trying to concentrate on copying down.

Unfortunately for her, also because of Azayaka-Sensei's absentmindedness, her teacher would rarely notice that her students weren't paying attention, which was at times quite frequent. Mugen spun around in his seat to face Fuu, who held her dark glare.

"You know… I never heard a 'thank you' from you yesterday, now did I? I mean, _I_ went out of my way to beat up that idiot brat Shinsuke and I got your pouch back fine and dandy…," Mugen recalled, mockingly offended as he stretched with his hands behind his head.

Fuu gave no sign of backing down her stubbornness. "… _And_ you just-so-happened to take a handful of my yen, you jerk!" she hissed, annoyed. "I mean, you came to the teashop too! Are you trying to get me _bankrupt_?!"

"No, I'm just trying to teach you simple values. Shouldn't you keep your mouth shut and keep your word? A dumpling a day isn't that much…"

"Oh, yeah? You order beer with anything edible on the menu! With you lagging around like some couch potato, you're giving my grandparents' teashop a bad rep!"

Mugen shrugged carelessly. "Does it _look_ like I care?" he questioned.

Fuu felt like there was steam coming out of her ears. _No, but you should!_ She hissed. Before she could lash out on him, her voice was drowned out by the sound of the bell. Class was over. Lunch period had started.

After most of the students had already excused themselves from their seats, Fuu quickly put her books in her bag. She wanted to hurry and meet up with Jin. As she made a dash in the hall, Fuu didn't look back to see if Mugen was following her or not. He had already angered her enough. It wasn't good to push her buttons too far.

Running down the narrow hall, Fuu passed by chattering students who were gossiping about. She could barely hear what they were talking about, but the few words that she could make out made everything clear.

"Did you hear… … Fuu and…?"

"He didn't deny it… … must be true."

"Following him around… … lovesick dog…"

"… I guess… cute couple."

Despite her current flustered face, Fuu tried to remain calm as she hurried down the flight of steps to the courtyard, trying to find any trace of Jin. Her heart was still racing. _Calm down, calm down… They were talking about you, Fuu, but you can't guarantee they meant Jin! I mean, everyone at school likes him! What's not to dislike? Well… maybe Mugen doesn't like Jin, but he just has poor taste!_ She thought to herself as she found herself bumping into someone. Her eyes sharply widened.

"J-Jin…," Fuu whispered sheepishly from behind. The dashing young man with glasses turned around quietly. He gave no response. "Thank you for letting me see your kendo practice yesterday," she then complimented with a shy smile, "It was amazing! I don't think I could've stopped talking about you when I was talking with Shino…" _You were such a better topic to talk about than that Mugen!_

Jin flinched. "Shino?" he repeated.

"Oh! Right, I haven't mentioned her, have I? She's my friend and a new student from a school in the city. I bumped into her today, and helped her out when she was stuck in a pinch! I'm sure you two would get along great!"

"… Is that so?"

With a red face, Fuu was uncertain of what to say next. She wanted to treat Jin out for lunch, but reluctantly was out of words to say. "Um… H-Hey, Jin… Um…"

Jin turned away. "Please excuse me."

"Huh?" Fuu asked, confused as she watched Jin suddenly walk away. Her heart sank. _Eh? What was that all about…? And… I wanted to treat him to lunch too…_ "Jin…"

"Hey. You."

_"Hey"…? "You"…?! But wait a minute—— it's not Mugen's voice…_, Fuu thought as she spun around. She flinched. "Y-You…!" Fuu said with disbelief. "The _thief_!"

Standing there was none other than the young boy who almost got away with her pink yen pouch. He had an arrogant and almost hastily look on his face as he gave a glare at Fuu. "You played dirty yesterday… sending over that bodyguard of yours…," he muttered.

I returned the glare. "You think _I_ played dirty? _You_ tried to steal my money!"

"You just made it so _easy_," Shinsuke made his excuse as he crossed his arms with a shrug.

Fuu twitched with anger. It was bad enough Mugen had to get all over her case during class and Jin had strangely left before she had the chance to hold a normal conversation with him, but Shinsuke's appearance really twisted the knot. Not only was he the thief from yesterday, but he apparently didn't feel that much guilt for his crime.

_Why, you…!_ She gritted her teeth, _Dammit, why are all the boys at this school complete jerks?!_ "Just what do you want?" Fuu questioned, narrowing her eyes.

"Where's that bodyguard of yours? I have… a score to settle."

"Mugen's not my bodyguard!"

"And that over guy who spent the whole lunch period lookin' for me?"

"If you're talking about _Jin_, well, he's not my bodyguard either, all right?!"

Shinsuke tilted his head, curiously. "Then what? Oh… I get it. One of those guys are your boyfriend, am I right? Or are you just some sleazy two-timer?" he murmured.

"You don't know when to stop, do you…?!" Fuu hissed, irritated. _I wish he'd stop blabbing about and jumping into conclusions!_ Her hands had turned to fists as she tried to stay calm, though it was tempting to punch him in the face, for what she did this morning gave her the courage to do so now.

But for a moment, Fuu paused. She released a quiet sigh before responding more calmly. "Why?" she asked softly.

"_Why_ what?" Shinsuke questioned, narrowing his eyes. "Trying to change the subject?"

She shook her head. _This guy… He's…_ "Why did you do it?" Fuu repeated. "Why did you try to steal from me?"

"That's…," Shinsuke muttered before lashing out, "… none of your business!"

Fuu looked away as the wind fluttered past her tied up, brown hair. _He can't be… all that bad. He may've stolen from me, but…_ She refused to look him in the eye. "You must have a reason. If you tell me… I think I can understand."

Out of nowhere, Shinsuke pushed Fuu to the wall as he placed he cupped her chin in his hand and his other hand pressed against the wall tightly. He stared Fuu straight in the eye so that he knew he had her attention.

"Mind your own business," Shinsuke warned coldly.

"But… I…," Fuu whispered.

"You… wouldn't understand anyway… My mother is…!"

"Your mother…?"

Before Shinsuke could say anything else, all of a sudden he fell on the ground. Fuu gasped. He had knocked out. She looked up to see who had done it. _Mugen_. He stood there with his kendo stick over his shoulder, eying Shinsuke as if he was scum.

"Why do you always attract trouble? You danger-prone or something?" Mugen questioned as he pulled her away from the scene.

"Why did you do that?" Fuu demanded as she took one glance at Shinsuke before she was forced to leave him, "If you keep knocking him out like that, he's bound to get brain damage!"

"I'm offended. Again, I save your ass and _this_ is what I get?"

"Well, I didn't ask you to save me, did I? Besides, he had something important to say!" Fuu added.

Mugen rolled his eyes. "You're just pissed off because Jin ditched you again. Or are you pissed off because I didn't leave you with that stupid thief?"

Fuu twitched with anger as she slowly turned her head to face Mugen. "They're _better_ company…," she gritted in her teeth. "Besides, shouldn't you be off with your girlfriends? Opps, I mean, your _slutty_ girlfriends?"

"They were pretty upset when they saw me leave to get your money pouch… You haven't heard the news yet, transfer student?"

"Quite that. It's Fuu, okay? And _what_ news?"

"People are starting to wonder. … Everyone seems to think we're dating."

Fuu froze. Mugen was acting so calm, yet this wasn't a time to be calm. She gulped. _Da-Da-Da-Dating?!_ She furiously shook her head. _Is this why people were staring at me strangely today at class?! Even Jin was giving me an odd look! And those rumors… Argh!!_ "I-Impossible! Who would believe that?!" she demanded with a red face.

"Apparently… the whole school," Mugen teased cockily with a smile. "We're the talk of the town. Don't you like the attention? Now be a good '_girlfriend_,' and buy me lunch."

"There's no way…," Fuu grimaced. "_Who_ would want to date you? Not me!"

"You know…," he trailed on, "You always seem to like adding malice when you see me with _other girls_… It can make a guy wonder. Are you trying to _imply_ something?"

She glared. "That's nothing of the sort!" she snapped.

"Fortunately, you're not really my type…," Mugen added without a care.

"I _know_. You like them easy and big breasted. _Go figure_…," Fuu muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, you're right," Mugen agreed with a sigh. "Feisty girls with flat chests like you aren't my type. Especially annoying girls."

"Just what are _you_ implying?!"

"That's rude. Didn't I ask you the same thing?"

Fuu groaned. Mugen's mind games were endless.

_What's this guy's deal? Geez, I really should check on that thief... Shinsuke, was it? But, then again, he probably won't be happy after my so-called bodyguard knocked him out again... Jin's acting weird too, but I don't think it's because of those lousy rumors... _She closed her eyes. _As for Mugen... You really will never let anyone inside, will you, Mugen?_ Fuu thought quietly. Then a thought occurred to her.

"Mugen… Have you ever had a girlfriend before?"

"Is this a _trick_ question?"

Fuu shook her head. "No, I mean a real girlfriend. Like a long-term relationship. I've already asked Jin, so I thought I might as well ask you too," she replied casually. "So? Yes or no?"

"Well... There was this one chick that played hard to get, but now she loves me so much that she wants to marry me, but... she went on vacation and won't come back for a little while...," Mugen listed off, staring up at the sky.

"Is this a trick _answer_?" Fuu questioned, narrowing her eyes. _I was being serious, but here he goes, giving me a not-so-serious response..._, she muttered.

Mugen shrugged. "You can believe me or not."

All of a sudden, Fuu jumped up, startled. "Wahhh!"

"What the...?" Mugen wondered.

Fuu scratched her head. "Oh, my _cell phone_... The vibrator scared me...," she mumbled as she took out her cell phone. "Eh...? Shino...?"

"Shino?" Mugen asked.

"Hello?" Fuu responded, "Shino, is that you?"

"Hi, Fuu. I was hoping you were free after school. I'd like to treat you to a café for helping me today," Shino suggested on the other line.

"Oh, no... You don't have too..."

"Please? I want to thank you properly, remember?"

Fuu sighed and nodded, smiling. "Sure. I'll meet you at the Star Café at four. Okay. Thank you. Bye," she said, and then hung up the phone. She glanced to find Mugen eying her carefully. "What?"

"So?" Mugen repeated, crossing his arms, "Who's Shino?"

"A friend who's treating me to a café...," she awed, grinning, "Wow, I've never been to one of those before..."

"You mean a friend who's treat you and me to a café," Mugen corrected.

Fuu moaned. "What? I-I don't think you'd like the place! Why don't you just go to the teashop, get a bite to eat, and go home? It wasn't in our contract that I had to serve you dumplings every day, you know...," she complained. "Plus, Shino's kind of my only girl friend. You'd just ruin the fun with... being you!"

Mugen paused. "It's a _girl_?"

"You thought it was a _guy_?" Fuu raised an eyebrow.

"Well, now that I know it's a girl, I really wanna go now," Mugen insisted.

_Great, just great..._, Fuu muttered. "Wait... Why did you want to go in the first place?"

"No reason."

_He says that, but... I'm not convinced._ "All right."

"Really?" Mugen said, "Cool. You really toned down the _bitchiness_ today."

Fuu twitched. "Just for that, I'm inviting _Jin_ too! And _Shinsuke_!"

"Jin? Are you sure you want that bastard and me together?" Mugen reminded, "We almost made a mockery of your teashop, remember? And let's not forget that thief Shinsuke. I still feel like beating the guy up for no reason at all..."

"Don't you dare," Fuu gave an ultimatum. "If you want me to keep my word, you have to stop fighting with Jin."

"No deal."

"I'll give you one thousand yen."

Mugen pondered for a moment. "Make it three, and I'll behave for the day."

Fuu nodded as she handed him the cash. "Got it." Then she turned around. "Let me go apologize to Shinsuke, okay?"

"Why are you bringing that asshole again? I understand why you want Jin to come, but..."

"You keep knocking him out! I have to apologize!"

Mugen sighed. "... Whatever," he agreed, slipping the money into his pocket.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm really sorry. Mugen often acts on his own... without thinking."

"You really think I'll accept _your_ apology? I want that jerk to apologize himself!"

_That's highly unlikable and impossible..._, Fuu thought. "Look, my friend's treating me out to a café, and I'm inviting a few people. You're one of those people I want to invite. Can you come?" she suggested.

Shinsuke looked away. "M-Me? Why?" he stuttered.

"Well, you and Mugen may hate each other, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends, right?" Fuu reminded, smiling. "Besides, I know you stole from me, but I can forgive you for that. You don't seem like a bad person."

"Fine," Shinsuke muttered.

"Fine?"

"I'll go."

Fuu sighed with relief. "Good. I'm glad," she replied.

"So... Who else is going? Besides you and your friend, I mean," Shinsuke asked.

"Jin and Mugen," Fuu said casually.

"_Mu-Mugen_?!" Shinsuke shouted with disbelief, "Do you really think I'm gonna go with that guy who's trying to give me brain damage?!"

Fuu looked down nervously. "He promised he'll be on his best behavior...," she muttered. _Although, can I really take his word?_

"Can you really take his word?" Shinsuke read her mind as he crossed his arms.

Even though she wasn't all too convinced herself, Fuu nodded automatically. "Trust me, Shinsuke," she told him.

Shinsuke sighed, and again nodded. "All right. I guess if it's you, then it's fine," he finally replied.

"If it's _me_?"

"I mean _nothing_ by that, got it?!"

Fuu made a face and agreed. "... G-Got it." _All right. Two down. Just one more to go. I'll just find Jin after school and ask him. I know he's been acting weird around me lately, but maybe if I spend more time around him, at least he can open up to me_, she decided. Then Fuu paused as her eyes widened.

She quickly took out her phone and began dialing. _Aw, geez, I better tell Shino I'm inviting more people! I hope she doesn't pay for them too! That'd be too much of a thank you! Sorry, Shino!!_

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4 Done! RXR!


	5. Love Triangles

**The Fateful Trio**

I'm really sorry for the 1-2 years lack of chapter uploads. I've been very busy with schoolwork, family stuff, and etcetera, but I'm really trying to begin uploading new chapters to all my fanfics. I will start with the highest votes on my poll – where I asked readers which fanfic they wanted me to update first – and I'll move on from that. Sorry for the extremely long delay and please enjoy!

**Last Chapter:** Fuu rescues and befriends newcomer Shino, a young girl who is enrolled in a private all-girls school in the city. Fuu overheard a rumor in school going around – a rumor involving her dating "someone." Fuu mentions Shino to Jin, who abruptly left afterwards. She then encounters the pickpocket Shinsuke, who desires revenge on Fuu's "bodyguard" Mugen for knocking him out the other day. Fuu asks Shinsuke why he tried to steal from her, realizing that he cannot be such a bad person and must have had his reasons. Defensive, Shinsuke warned her to mind her own business, mentioning his mother before Mugen stepped in and knocked Shinsuke out again, much to Fuu's annoyance. Mugen reveals to Fuu that the rumor going around was that everything thought Mugen and Fuu were dating, much to Fuu's horrific dismay; as the two bickered, Fuu asked Mugen if he ever had a real girlfriend, to which Mugen recalled a girl who loved him so much she wanted to marry him but is currently on vacation, but Fuu doesn't believe him. Fuu received an invitation from Shino to meet her at the Star Café in order to treat her in gratitude for rescuing her. After Mugen invites himself to the meeting, Fuu decides to invite Jin and Shinsuke as well. She apologizes to Shinsuke for Mugen, and Shinsuke reluctantly agrees to go with Fuu because of her. Fuu hopes to ask Jin after school, noticing that he had been acting strange.

This is my first Samurai Champloo fanfic! Please enjoy!

**I do not own Samurai Champloo!**

* * *

"Jin!"

Fuu hurried before she lost sight of her bespectacled classmate and potential love interest. Trailing behind her were Mugen and Shinsuke, both who didn't want to be around Jin half as much as they didn't want to be around each other. Mugen kept tapping his kendo blade against his shoulder as Shinsuke stuffed his hands into his pockets. Glances – _glares_ to be more exact – were exchanged rather than words and insults as both of them waited quietly, their attentions turning to Fuu briefly as they watched her run off.

"Jin! Jin, wait!" Fuu called again.

Jin paused and turned around. Fuu grinned as she reached him. "Jin, I'm so glad I found you! Do you think you could do me a favor? I know it's last minute, but...," she dragged on sweetly, "I was really hoping you could come with me to see my friend Shino! She's treating me for lunch, so... could you come with me?" Jin opened his mouth to speak, but Fuu carried on quickly, realizing her misleading words. "D-Don't worry! It's not like it'll be aw-awkward or anything! It-It's not like it's a... d-date or anything... Mu-Mugen and Shinsuke are coming along too! So it'll just be... just... friends..." Fuu bit her lip at the last part, unsure if it was because of her worry that Jin would not come or because of the "just friends" bit she just had to add.

Fuu noticed he was really thinking this over. But his expression only moments ago... "I'm busy. Sorry," Jin uttered and walked away before Fuu could snap out of her thoughts and persist.

All she could do was watch him leave. _Jin... He's been acting funny all day... Wait. Is it because he still thinks Mugen and I are dating?! Well, the whole school thinks that, but it's definitely not true! Who'd wanna date Mugen besides his routine slutty girlfriends and his supposed ex who loved him so much she wanted to marry him?! Ugh! _ Fuu groaned in her mind. _Great... and here I thought I could have brought someone civilized to meet Shino..._ Fuu's shoulders slumped as she stared at the ground. _Shino... When I mentioned her, Jin was acting funny then. He had the same expression, the same expression like that time too..._

_"Once..."_

Fuu felt a little funny herself as she felt heat through her face, just like when she watched Jin at his kendo practice. Feeling pathetic like that time, her legs turned flimsy, weak. _But... why is that...? When I mentioned... Shino...? Why...?_

Mugen tapped Fuu on her shoulder with his kendo stick. Fuu shook her head, awakened from her thoughts. "Cheer up! Look on the bright side, transfer student," he suggested, smirking at her.

"_What_ bright side?" Fuu muttered, dejected.

"With Jin gone, I'll have you all to myself!" Mugen moved the kendo stick so it was against Fuu's neck. Fuu glared as she took a step back, forced to lean against Mugen. "You and your _money_. And that _Shino chick_," he added.

"You...," Fuu hissed, struggling to get away from Mugen to no avail. _You stalking perverted creep and a heartless pig... You're not cheering me up at all! You're actually making it worse! I want to de-invite you now..._

"Don't forget _I'm_ here," Shinsuke said with a sigh, pulling Mugen's wooden blade off Fuu with ease. He took Fuu's hand and pulled her along. "I can't stay very long, so you two better start walking. Come on, Fuu."

Mugen automatically and instinctively took hold of Fuu's other hand, stopping the two. "Hey, since when were you crowned _king of the_ _fucking world?_" he sneered, more irritated than usual, "Don't you start ordering me around, and don't you start ordering her around, you damn thief. That's _my_ job!"

"So _you're_ the king of the fucking world? Gee, and I thought you were just some bodyguard."

"You trying to start somethin', you little punk?"

"Me? You're the one who keeps swooping in and knocking me out!"

"Maybe I'd stop if you just kept your hands off of things that aren't yours!"

_Things?_ "I'm not some kind of _object,_ Mugen! I don't belong to either one of you guys, so paws off, the both of you!" Fuu hissed, irritated as she jerked her wrists from Mugen and Shinsuke, but their grips wouldn't budge. "H-Hey, guys…?" She awkwardly glanced at Mugen, then Shinsuke, then Mugen again. Fuu gulped, feeling the tense atmosphere growing. "C-Come on, guys... Don't make a scene. C-Can't we all just get along…?"

"She's _mine_, so hands off!" Mugen warned, his eyes solely on Shinsuke. Shinsuke returned the glare, but briefly glanced at Fuu; Mugen noticed and grunted.

"She's _not_ yours to take."

"What was that?!"

Shinsuke ignored Mugen pulled Fuu along, Fuu's hand slipping out of Mugen's in the process. Fuu stole a glance at Mugen as she got pulled away, but Mugen didn't see this. He was at his empty hand. His eyes soon were drawn to Fuu, who was now staring at Shinsuke, but Fuu didn't see this glance. Silent, Mugen trailed behind and glared at the two.

Fuu watched Shinsuke, realizing something. _Shinsuke..._, she thought. _That's right, he's going out of his way to do this, even though Mugen gave him one-too-many concussions._ She smiled. _... I knew he wasn't so bad. _Fuu blinked. _But before..._

"_You… wouldn't understand anyway… My mother is…!"_

Fuu decided to say nothing. For now, at the very least. Whatever Shinsuke was going to say, it sounded personal; she wanted to know what was wrong and if there was some way she could help him, but she decided to wait and ask at a better time. After all, Shino was waiting for her at the café, and Fuu had to make sure Mugen's lecherous nature was kept in check and to stop Mugen and Shinsuke from brawling.

But Fuu couldn't help but think of Shinsuke and what was unsaid at that time.

* * *

Jin stood in front of the dojo after a few rounds of practice. He wiped sweat from his brow with a small towel and stared up at the sky. White clouds stood out in the blue sky like tossed aside jigsaw pieces. Jin couldn't concentrate all through practice, making his other teammates confused and apprehensive and he was reluctantly sent outside to take a break. Jin wiped sweat off his face. Jin would only rarely make a mistake. Rarely meant only once two years ago. Two years ago when... Jin slowly inhaled and exhaled, resting his head against the wall behind him. The mere thought of it made his head spin.

_"I-I'm sorry, Jin. ... Please don't see me anymore."_

Jin closed his eyes, feeling wind pass by him faintly. "Shino...," he whispered.

* * *

"The Star Café, the Star Café... Do any of you guys know where it is?" Fuu asked her two companions. One stared at her with confusion, the other with disbelief.

Shinsuke glanced back at Fuu. "You don't know where it is?"

"What do you _mean_ you don't know where it is?" Mugen demanded, pulling Fuu to face him, "So you brought us out here for some wild goose chase?!"

"I'm still new here, remember?! I-I thought one of you guys knew!"

"Well, you thought wrong, princess!"

The brunette pocket thief sighed wearily. "Calm down, the both of you. I... I know where it is," Shinsuke admitted quietly.

"_You do?_" Mugen and Fuu asked in unison.

Shinsuke glanced ahead at the corner of the street they were on. He pointed towards a light pole that stood six yards in front of them as plain as daylight. "See that light pole over there? We just need to take a left on that corner, and the café is only five stores away. You won't be able to miss it."

Fuu raised an eyebrow. "Shinsuke, you've been to the Star Café before, haven't you?" she realized.

Shinsuke sheepishly looked away from Fuu. "I'd... come there every now and then to get dessert for my, er, for someone... really important to me...," he muttered, staring on the concrete beneath them.

"Shinsuke?" Fuu asked.

"Hey, are we going or what?" hollered a familiar voice ahead of them and interrupted their conversation.

"Eh?" both Fuu and Shinsuke asked. They both spun around to find Mugen leaning his hand against the light pole, his other hand carrying his kendo stick as usual. Fuu frowned. _Someone important to Shinsuke... He was beginning up for me... I was this close to getting Shinsuke to open up to me! Unlike Jin... or that jerk Mugen. Whenever I think that idiot's starting to open up to me, he ends up doing something stupid like stealing my money or picking fights..._, she thought.

Mugen's gaze lowered, and Fuu couldn't tell if he was staring at her, Shinsuke, both of them, or even the sidewalk. "I thought you were in a rush, thief. It looks like you still have time to _flirt_," he sneered.

Shinsuke and Fuu blinked, their faces reddening at the very idea. "_F-Flirt?!_" Shinsuke stuttered.

Fuu glared at Mugen. "Stop teasing the boy, Mugen!" she warned him.

"I think _you're_ the one who's being a tease."

"_What?_"

"Fuu? Is that you?"

Fuu recognized the familiar and gentle voice. She spun around and grinned. "Shino?" Fuu exclaimed in awe.

The raven haired girl with matching eyes smiled at her. "Thank you for meeting with me today. I'm so glad I can repay you for this morning," Shino said, bowing at Fuu.

"Please don't bow, really! Anyone would have done the same in your predicament. I'm just happy to help," she quickly reassured her.

Shino turned to Shinsuke. "Ah, you must be... Fuu's boyfriend?" she presumed.

Both Fuu and Shinsuke stared at Shino with wide eyes. "_B-Boyfriend?!_"

_Why does everyone think I'm dating somebody today? First Mugen, and now Shinsuke...,_ Fuu muttered dejectedly.

"Yes. You're the _handsome and quiet type_ Fuu mentioned earlier, right?" Shino remembered.

Mugen frowned, watching Fuu fret with embarrassment. "Sh-Sh-Shino, th-that's...! That was... _someone else,_ but he... he couldn't come," she reluctantly admitted. _Jin couldn't come..._

Shinsuke glanced at Fuu as Mugen rolled his eyes. "Oh, that's a shame," Shino said apologetically, "So we're one person short then. But that's all right, right?"

"It really is!" Fuu grinned as she smiled at Shinsuke, "Shinsuke's been great company! Opps, I forgot to introduce you two. Um, Shinsuke, this is Shino! And Shino, this is Shinsuke!"

"Hello," Shino greeted, bowing once more.

Shinsuke attempted to bow his head a little. "Yeah, hi...," he mumbled, unsure of what to say.

"Fuu, I have one question, though," Shino added.

Fuu turned. "Yes?"

"If the two of you aren't dating... why are you _holding hands_?"

_Holding... hands...?_ Fuu and Shinsuke exchanged glances before slowly looking down. Her right hand was intertwined with his left hand. Shinsuke was still holding her hand since they had left school grounds. Quickly, the two jerked their hands away from each other out of embarrassment. "S-Sorry!" they said in unison at each other with mutual red faces, making the moment only more embarrassing.

Fuu looked over and saw Mugen by the light pole. _Mugen!_ "Oh! Shino, this is..."

"You must be the famous, or should I say _infamous_, Mugen," Shino noticed aloud, "I've heard a lot about you from Fuu."

Mugen raised his head a little and shrugged. Fuu looked at Mugen, confused. _Huh, Mugen was pretty excited about meeting Shino a second ago, so why this silence? Where's that cocky smile of his? Mugen...?_ She took a step forward. "Mugen," Fuu began slowly, "Are you o–"

"– So _you're_ Shino!" Mugen suddenly said aloud, breaking the silence, "You're pretty damn hot. I was kind of worried how you'd look like since you're friends with this _annoying twerp,_ but you're my type! More of my type than _this flat broad._"

Fuu twitched. _Never mind that. That creep's back to his old, perverted self..._ "What did you call me?!" Fuu questioned in a whisper, knowing just who those insults were intended for. She turned to Shino and apologized. "Shino, please ignore this guy!"

Shino laughed. "Don't worry, Fuu," she reassured her, "I've dealt with worse."

Mugen grinned. "_Oh, really?_ Well, why don't we ditch these two and get _better acquainted_, huh?" he suggested, walking over to Fuu, Shinsuke, and Shino.

"Cute, but I've dated boys your age so I think I've learned my lesson."

"Are you really sure about that? I can be pretty _persuasive,_ you know."

Fuu interjected with a loud cough. "So. Shino. Star Café?" was all Fuu could manage to get out of her mouth. She was already ticked off by the very fact that Mugen was flirting with her first female friend right in front of her.

Shino nodded, receiving Fuu's not-so-subtle signal. "Yes, it's right over there. Why don't we head there now?" she suggested.

Fuu forced in a smile after giving a quick glare at Mugen. "I couldn't have said it better myself."

* * *

The Star Café was a small dessert shop. While the café seemed too cutesy for Mugen and Shinsuke to even bear to enter, they were hungry and the food looked too delicious to deny. "Why don't you let Shinsuke and me order, Fuu?" Shino volunteered.

"Shinsuke?" Fuu asked.

"Me?" Shinsuke muttered.

"I thought it was unfair that I had spoken with Shinsuke the least out of the three of you. You and Mugen can go ahead and find a seat. You're okay with my company, right, Shinsuke?"

"Y-Yeah, sure."

Shinsuke frowned as he glanced at Mugen before he walked over to the cashier line with Shino. Mugen smiled to spite Shinsuke before following a reluctant Fuu to find seats. Shinsuke awkwardly glanced at Shino. He didn't really know her that well, so he didn't really know what to say. The pocket thief had to admit it was intimidating to be next to someone like Shino, who was both a stranger and beautiful. Shinsuke coughed and decided to take the initiative in starting a conversation.

"So, what are you ordering, Shino?" he asked as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked up at the menu.

Shino smiled as she joined Shinsuke's gaze and pondered on her order. "Hm, I think a crepe," she decided, "What will you get, Shinsuke?"

"Uh, a slice of strawberry cake. It's my m– it's my favorite."

"I was thinking of purchasing that for Fuu as well. I'm not too sure about Mugen. I might just get him a coke."

"Wait, you're paying for Mugen too?" Shinsuke spat out, "I knew you were treating Fuu, but..."

Shino blinked. "I'm treating you too, Shinsuke," she added.

Shinsuke rolled his eyes with a look on impatience. "N-No, that's not necessary," he assured her, "I can pay for myself, you know."

"Forgive me if I offended you. You see, Fuu saved me today, and I wanted to treat her today in gratitude," Shino quietly explained as she opened her purse and retrieved her wallet, "My act doesn't even amount to what she has done for me, and so I don't mind treating two more people. So please, let me."

Shinsuke sighed. "All right, all right. But there's one thing I don't get."

Shino glanced at him. "And that would be?"

"Why did you ask me to go with you in line instead of Fuu? I mean, sure we didn't really talk as much, but it was Fuu who you wanted to hang out with today, right?"

"I wanted to give Fuu some alone time with Mugen so they can settle whatever lover's quarrel they're having. Even if he won't admit it, Mugen seems to like Fuu. And Fuu likes Mugen too, right?"

Shinsuke frowned. "No. I-I dunno...," he muttered reluctantly and looked away, "I-I mean, I never asked. There were rumors around Edo High that they were an item, but... I doubt it."

Shino stared at Shinsuke. "_You_ like Fuu too, don't you?" she said.

"_Huh?_"

"Next in line, please."

Shinsuke and Shino turned to find they were finally at the cashier. The two exchanged glances before smiling and began to say their orders.

* * *

Fuu sat down by a table by the glass window. The booth seats were long and made to fit two people at each side. Mugen slumped down in the seat right next to her. Annoyed at Mugen, Fuu pressed her lips together and looked away with her arms crossed.

"Why are sitting _here?_ There are perfectly good seats across from me. Go sit over _there!_ _Away_ from me!"

"What? Disappointed I stole your _boyfriend's_ seat?"

"He's _not_ my boyfriend," Fuu muttered with a sigh, "I was just disappointed I couldn't order dessert with Shino. At least that would've gotten me away from _you._ I invited you here because I thought you would behave... but all you've been doing is trying to provoke Shinsuke and flirting with Shino!" She glared at him furiously. "And if I remember correctly, I gave you three thousand yen so you wouldn't fight with Jin and Jin's not even here! So would you please return my money? It's my allowance."

"_No refunds._"

"_You..._"

Fuu exhaled. "You know, you could have just told me the truth, Mugen," she mentioned, exasperated, "You didn't have to _lie_ before."

Mugen frowned. "Lie about what?"

"About your 'girlfriend.' Your supposed ex who was sooo crazy in love with you that she wanted to marry you. Jeez, either fess up the truth or at least make a better lie to fool me!"

"_Mugen… Have you ever had a girlfriend before?"_

_ "Is this a trick question?"_

_ "No, I mean a real girlfriend. Like a long-term relationship. I've already asked Jin, so I thought I might as well ask you too. So? Yes or no?"_

_ "Well... There was this one chick that played hard to get, but now she loves me so much that she wants to marry me, but... she went on vacation and won't come back for a little while..."_

"Well, it wasn't a lie. I guess she technically wasn't a real girlfriend, but I had her longer than my usual girlfriends."

"You mean your usual _slutty_ girlfriends."

Mugen chuckled. "See? There you go off again saying stuff that can make a guy wonder…," he murmured matter-of-factly.

"I'm not implying anything!" Fuu groaned.

"I never said you were."

"But you _implied_ it."

Mugen replied with baring his cocky smile.

Fuu groaned and looked away. _I can't believe I actually missed that smile of his for even a second..._, she groaned. She stared at the glass window to her right. Fuu blinked and noticed something. From the reflection of the window, Mugen's right arm was resting on booth's top. Mugen's arm was right behind her, and Mugen himself was right beside her. Fuu flinched in surprise. The very sight gave her goose bumps and made her face feel too warm, which discomforted her. _Wh-Why is he so close...?!_ she wondered worryingly,_ I don't like this at all... He needs to move – I-I need to move!_ Fuu blinked her eyes rapidly, her eyes darting everywhere. She reluctantly glanced at Mugen, who was coolly staring at the ceiling with his kendo sword lying against his left arm. While Fuu was slightly peeved Mugen wasn't as uncomfortable as she was, her strong desire to abruptly get away from him increased.

"C-Can you move? I need to get out. I-I need some fresh air. I need to go to the bathroom," Fuu hastily said.

"I don't think you'll find fresh air in a _public bathroom_...," Mugen replied with a chuckle, "Besides, what's the rush? What's up with you, transfer student? You're getting all clammy."

The moment Mugen made eye contact with Fuu, she immediately avoided his gaze. Just looking at him made her heart race, and she didn't know why. "I-I just need some air. So, get out of the way, Mugen!" she demanded quietly, "Ju-Just move, okay?!"

Mugen observed Fuu quietly. "... You okay?"

Fuu bit her lip and looked away. Instead of answering his question, she simply muttered for him to move once again.

"Not until you look me in the eye. For five seconds. You can't even stand to look at me, can you...?" he interrogated lowly, raising his eyebrow, "Now, why is that?"

"Mugen, please. Just move."

"Five seconds. Is it really that damn difficult?"

Fuu inhaled and turned. Her eyes locked with Mugen's. Mugen began counting. She tried to stay focused, she tried to just concentrate on his eyes for five measly seconds, but there were so many things spiraling in Fuu's head. _Why is this so difficult? Why am I so bothered by this? It's not like I haven't been in close proximity of Mugen before, s-so why am I bothered now? And why do I have to look at him? Why is Mugen so close? Why is my heart racing? Why am I... getting all warm? Why–_

Her eyes widened and she turned away before Mugen could reach five. "_– No_," was the single word that slipped out of Fuu's mouth.

Mugen held Fuu's chin with his left hand and forced her to face him. Their faces were barely inches away. "One more second, princess," he sneered firmly, "I want you to look me in the eye."

"_No!_"

Shinsuke and Shino, who had gotten to their table the moment Fuu yelled, stood there in shock. Shinsuke cleared his throat quietly and a little uncomfortably. "Hey... Fuu? Mu-Mugen...?" he asked. They flinched slightly when Mugen moved aside and stood up. Fuu quickly rushed outside before anyone else could say another word.

Mugen stared at the ground as he scratched his head. He slumped back on his seat and looked up to find Shinsuke and Shino. Shino had a crepe and one strawberry slice of cake on her plate while Shinsuke had a small box with his order likely inside it and a coke. "What are you two standing around for? Are you guys gonna sit down or what?" Mugen grunted.

"Sure…," Shino said softly and made the initiative by taking the seat across from Mugen. She glanced at Shinsuke, who stayed standing. "Shinsuke? Why don't you sit down? Sit next to me."

Shinsuke placed his tray on the table and looked up, glancing at Fuu from the glass window. She sat on a bench with her hand clutched onto her chest as she watched traffic going on through the streets. "Mugen, what happened? What did you do?" he asked him.

"Isn't it _so_ easy to place the blame on me? Don't insult me 'cause I didn't do shit. It was that idiot girlfriend of yours who was acting crazy. She must be _PMS-ing_ or something..."

"You can be a little cruel sometimes, you know...? I wonder just how long that girl can stand being with you until she gets tired."

Mugen didn't even turn to look at Shinsuke. In mere seconds, he already saw the thief outside to find Fuu. Mugen stared at Fuu before shutting his eyes, trying to erase the image in his mind. Of how painful Fuu looked when she looked at him.

* * *

Shinsuke approached Fuu, who lied against the bench with a dazed expression. He hesitantly waved his hand in front of her. "Um, Fuu? Are you all right?" He noticed a few chestnut brown strands of hair were in front of her face. Shinsuke moved it aside, but his hand retreated when he realized what he was doing. "Wh-What was I doing?! S-Sorry, I-I meant nothing by that!" he quickly apologized in embarrassment.

"He is the absolute worst…," Fuu dryly whispered under her breath. Shinsuke stared at Fuu, confused. "A total jerk, a perverted creep, and a heartless pig. And he's an idiot too. So, why...?"

"Why... what?"

"Why did it bother me so much…? Why do I feel... like such an idiot right now?"

"_Even if he won't admit it, Mugen seems to like Fuu. And Fuu likes Mugen too, right?"_

"_You like Fuu too, don't you?"_

Shinsuke lowered his gaze. "Fuu... do you like Mugen?"

Fuu's eyes widened, awakened by the very mention of Mugen's name. Her eyes were finally focusing from the traffic. She looked up at Shinsuke in bewilderment. "What... did you just say?" she slowly asked him.

"Do you like him? Mugen?"

* * *

"Really, I leave you two alone in hopes that the dispute would cease, but I find the problem escalating instead. What a shame."

"Just what in the hell are you spouting off now, woman?"

Shino bit into her crepe. She chewed quietly, swallowed, and stared at Mugen. "What I meant was you really blew it!" Shino told him, "Honestly, what did you do to the poor thing?"

Mugen glared. "Jeez, first that stupid thief, and now you. Do I have to repeat myself? I didn't do shit," he muttered, "That twerp has everyone wrapped around her little finger just 'cause she looks so damn innocent."

"What happened?"

"…"

Shino sighed. After a period of silence, she finally whispered, "... She doesn't hate you."

Mugen stared at her.

"If that's what you're thinking, then I'm telling you otherwise. Fuu doesn't hate you. In fact, I'm almost certain it's the opposite. I don't think she hates you at all. To be frank, I think she actually..."

* * *

"_Do you like him?"_

Fuu's eyes began completely focused, as did her mind. "Wh-What?!" she stammered, blushing as she looked away. _Th-Th-There's no way, no way... Jin's the one I like, so why... Why is it that Mugen's the one in my head right now...?!_ "N-No, I... Th-That's..."

"Then go out with me," Shinsuke told her.

Fuu stared at Shinsuke, confused. "What...?"

"I like you. So if you don't like Mugen, then go out with me."

* * *

**Preview:** After the previous day's events, Fuu must come to terms with Shinsuke's abrupt confession, her unrequited feelings for Jin, and her exact relationship with Mugen. A reunion between Jin and Shino, and a confrontation between Mugen and Shinsuke leads to an untimely new discovery…

**[RxR!]**


End file.
